The Evil Qi from the Blood Tiger Saber gradually receded, and the pain in his body slowly registered.

Bai Yuan felt as if his entire body had been disassembled and pieced back together. Fiery pain caused large beads of sweat to pop out on his face. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

Fortunately, none of the injuries were serious.

After all, he had only suffered a few wounds, while his opponents had lost their lives.

A single Bone Forger Martial Master killing ten Soul-Grabbing Little Ghosts from the Soul-Chasing Tower and one Yijin Martial Master—if word of such a feat got out, it would be jaw-dropping.

It was simply too ruthless!

However, the spoils of this battle were extremely plentiful. Setting aside whatever treasures Elder Wu might have had, the 417 enhancement points alone were a massive windfall.

It was a pity such opportunities didn’t come often.

’The evil path speedrunner’s playstyle really is the fastest,’ he thought.

Bai Yuan walked over to Elder Wu’s body, bent down, and began to loot it.

Aside from the Long Sword that had fallen to the side, he found nothing.

He was already prepared for this. After all, who would be crazy enough to carry all their valuables with them while going out to kill someone? The other ten Soul-Chasing Tower Assassins were even poorer; they had nothing on them but the clothes on their backs.

Just as Bai Yuan was about to leave this troubled place—

The Little Cyan Snake in his robes actually stirred.

Puzzled, he took out the small wooden box. The moment he opened it, the Little Cyan Snake slithered out on its own. It crawled down his sleeve to his trouser cuff, then slithered directly into the open mouth of Elder Wu’s head.

After a long while, the Little Cyan Snake emerged from Elder Wu’s eye socket, covered in a mess of red and white.

’Its demonic aura has grown stronger!’

Bai Yuan was surprised to find that the Little Cyan Snake seemed to have the ability to devour a person’s life force.

The Little Cyan Snake then repeated the same process on the corpses of the Soul-Chasing Tower Assassins.

By the time it was finished, the Little Cyan Snake’s body had more than doubled in size. It looked short and stout, clearly having eaten its fill.

Bai Yuan placed the Little Cyan Snake back in its small wooden box and then sped away.

...

「Five Flavors Pavilion.」

Xiao Qiaoniang stared at Bai Yuan, who was covered in blood and wounds. She nearly cried out in alarm but managed to stifle the sound.

To avoid being seen, Bai Yuan had climbed in through the window.

Although the room was on the fifth floor, for a Demon Hunter like him, it wasn’t much of a problem.

Xiao Qiaoniang hurried to a nearby cabinet and took out medicine for blade wounds and clean cloth strips.

She had been through this kind of scene a few times before, so she had secretly learned some methods for treating sword and saber wounds. She hadn’t expected to put them to use so soon.

With practiced hands, Xiao Qiaoniang cleaned his wounds, applied the ointment, and finally bandaged them with the cloth strips.

By the time she finished, it was already midnight.

"Brother Yuan, what on earth happened? Was it Chu Yuan?"

Bai Yuan shook his head and told Xiao Qiaoniang everything that had happened that day, down to the last detail. There was no need for secrets between them.

Hearing about the dangers he had faced that night, Xiao Qiaoniang looked with heartache at Bai Yuan’s still-bleeding wounds.

"Does it still hurt?"

"It doesn’t hurt anymore."

This wasn’t just to comfort her; Bai Yuan truly didn’t feel the pain.

Although the wounds looked frightening, his bones had been tempered by the Blood Tiger Saber’s Evil Qi, so they weren’t injured. Combined with the physique of a Martial Artist, he would soon recover. The wounds were already showing signs of healing, so they naturally didn’t hurt much.

Compared to tonight’s gains, these injuries were nothing.

’Add points!’

[You have cultivated the Tiger-Crane Form for forty-one years. Your saber technique grows more practiced, gradually becoming proficient.]

...

[You have cultivated the Tiger-Crane Form for sixty years. You have now thoroughly mastered the saber technique, and its power is beginning to manifest.]

...

[You have cultivated the Tiger-Crane Form for one hundred years. You have finally perfected this saber technique!]

[Name: Bai Yuan]

[Occupation: Demon Hunter, Swordsman, Boxer, Cook]

[Skills: Cooking (Master), Demon-Seeking (Proficient), Demon-Taming (Initiate), Tiger-Crane Form (Perfected), Blood Tiger Saber (Perfected)...]

[Enhancement Points: 0]

Bai Yuan’s mouth twitched as he looked at the "one hundred years" text.

If he were to rely on his current aptitude, he would need to practice for a hundred years to bring his Tiger-Crane Form to the Perfected level. And that was after his aptitude had already been enhanced by the Blood Tiger Saber’s Evil Qi.

’But it doesn’t matter. I have a cheat.’

After raising the Tiger-Crane Form to the Perfected level, his body began to change at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The wounds that had still been seeping blood began to scab over, and a powerful force surged within his body.

An old man on his deathbed could probably jolt upright and live for several more years if he obtained this power.

The benefits of cultivating Inner Strength were gradually becoming apparent.

The Tiger-Crane Form began to circulate on its own within his body. A refreshing stream of energy circled through him, completing a grand cycle, endlessly regenerating. The residual Evil Qi from using the Blood Tiger Saber at full power was also swept clean.

’When you’re grinding mobs, you have to have a healing skill.’ This was a lesson Bai Yuan had learned in his past life, paid for with ten "Try Again, Young Hero" screens.

Now, as long as Bai Yuan wanted to, he could break through and become an Yijin Martial Master at any moment.

To cross the Yijin Pass in two and a half years—even Chu Yuan would feel ashamed of his own speed in comparison.

Back in the day, it had taken the top disciple of Huwei Arts Hall seven years to become an Yijin Martial Master, and that was already considered the fastest speed in Qinghe County. But compared to Bai Yuan, he was still several levels behind.

...

「Zhu Family.」

"Still no sign of Elder Wu?"

The Zhu Family Patriarch, Zhu Shiping, looked anxiously at a clan disciple.

"R-Reporting to the Patriarch, Elder Wu has been found."

Hearing that Elder Wu had been found, Zhu Shiping’s face lit up with joy.

Ever since Elder Wu had quietly left the Zhu Family estate alone a few days ago, he had not returned, which had made Zhu Shiping worry.

Elder Wu was the pillar of the Zhu Family. The family could not afford to lose this Yijin Martial Master.

The young clansman standing before him was trembling, his legs shaking and his voice quivering.

Zhu Shiping’s heart skipped a beat.

"E-Elder Wu’s... body was discovered by nearby villagers in a pavilion outside the city. The bodies of Soul-Chasing Tower Assassins were found with him."

Zhu Shiping’s pupils dilated. He collapsed back into his Grandmaster’s Chair.

"It’s over... it’s all over."

He muttered to himself as if possessed.

Without Elder Wu’s protection, the Zhu Family’s vast fortune was like a flock of fat sheep waiting to be devoured by wolves.

"Gather the clan. We leave Qinghe County tonight."

"Patriarch, what about our assets in the city?"

"Take what we can. What we can’t... just leave it."

Zhu Shiping let out a long sigh before making his decision.

He had a rough idea of what had happened to Elder Wu. The reason Elder Wu appeared in the pavilion outside the city was likely because of that True Disciple named Bai Yuan.

As for why he died, it was highly probable that an expert from Huwei Arts Hall had intervened.

The Zhu Family had lost its strongest fighter and had also provoked Huwei Arts Hall. If they didn’t flee now, were they supposed to wait for Huwei Arts Hall to come knocking on their door to slaughter them?

「The next morning.」

When the people of Qinghe County saw the wide-open gates of the Zhu Family estate, the hundred or so members of the Zhu household had already left the city, fleeing toward the neighboring county.

A vast family enterprise had collapsed overnight.

The people of Qinghe County sighed with emotion. They had watched the family’s rise, and now they watched their fall, yet no one knew the reason why.